


on a line of greens and blues

by iwatobiaquarium (daleked)



Series: sharkbait week [7]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-27 00:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2671520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daleked/pseuds/iwatobiaquarium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The off-season is uneventful, until Matsuoka pays a visit to Haru's rink and bullies him into playing <em>Kraftig Bewegt</em>. Rin laughs when he skates, hair whipping around his face as he gears up for a salchow. Haru watches him jump, powerful yet graceful, and Rin lands without a hitch.</p>
<p>The imaginary crowd goes wild.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on a line of greens and blues

**Author's Note:**

> i love figure skating because the men are pretty

It's the off-season, but Haru visits the ice every day. He skates freely as he likes, feels the glide beneath his skates, notching and cutting his way through smoothly.

Some days, Haru never wants to come off the ice. His coach, a noisy man named Sasabe, lets him do as he likes as long as Haru puts in the hours. Haru's choreographer is his best friend Makoto, but it's time to put those records back in the cupboard for a little while. Haru gets to put his own music on and he does so, letting the music pour onto the ice as he skates his way through the day. There's  _L’Origine Nascosta_ , one of his personal favourites.

That is, until Matsuoka pays a visit to Haru's rink and bullies him into playing _Kraftig Bewegt_. He laughs when he skates, hair whipping around his face as he gears up for a salchow. Haru watches him jump, powerful yet graceful, and Rin lands without a hitch.

The imaginary crowd goes wild.

Haru wants to grab Rin by the lapels and shake him. He wants to know more, more than what the news outlets are saying about Rin's retirement from professional figure skating. Haru doesn't want Rin to stop skating.

When Rin slows down and sits for a gulp of water, Haru comes up to him.

'You've been really quiet today,' Rin says, and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. Haru shrugs and drinks from his own bottle. Rin hesitates before trying to pick up the conversation again, tucking his hair behind his ear.

'Haru, listen. I won't be coming back next season. Not to the ice.' Haru can't listen. He wants to stop. He wants Rin to shush, to let him process this. Then Rin is grabbing him by the wrists fiercely and holding them up, facing him as they sit on the bench by the ice. There's a long silence, broken only by the zamboni on the other side of the rink.

Haru doesn't know what to do, if Rin won't be there. 'Rin...' The words clog up in his throat, and Haru wants to run away. To skate away, on the ice where it's quiet and he can think.

'I won't be on the ice, but I'll be by your side.' And Rin is kissing him, fingers digging into Haru's skin.  _Grounding_  him, making sure he's here and in the moment.

Together.

+

When the next season rolls around, Haru is ready. Makoto has agreed on Wim Mertens'  _Time Passing_ , and Haru has worked hard.

'Haru!' Rin shouts from the sidelines, and Haru turns and grins at him so hard it hurts his cheeks. They've prepared a fittingly elegant routine this time round-- a quad toeloop, a triple lutz, and a triple axel to finish it up with.

Haru stands on the ice, listening to the roar of the crowd, and leans forward slightly to take his mark.  _Go!_

**Author's Note:**

> trashy anime sideblog at [iwatobiaquarium](http://iwatobiaquarium.tumblr.com/) i would love it if you came to visit and chat about swimming gays


End file.
